A school board in St. Helens, Ore., voted to allow teachers and staff to carry guns on school grounds, an official said.

St. Helens School Board chairman Marshall Porter told ABCNews.com that the board lifted a ban that prevented school employees from carrying guns on campus with concealed weapons permits on Wednesday.

"The current law in Oregon allows for anybody to concealed carry on school grounds," he said. "To exclude our staff seems like they're being punished. They should have a right to protect themselves if they so choose."

St. Helens School Board chairman Marshall Porter said he voted to repeal the gun ban to allow adults to protect children if confronted with a school shooting crisis.

"If [staff members] were faced with a horrific choice, if they had to defend themselves against a kid -- which has been the thing -- I think it would be a hard decision for them, one that they would educate themselves on," he said. "I do believe we're talking about educators, people who have the interest of the children in mind."